Hey I recently joined the board and have been spending time reading through your journal. I've gotten lots of great info, inspiration, and ideas from reading it. Keep it up!

First off, welcome to the board, mate! This is such a great compliment - thank you and thank you for reading! I'm glad you were able to gain something from my long-winded ramblings. If you have any questions about anything, don't hesitate to ask.

Mini Forklift Ⓥ wrote:

Here's my 2c (FWIW)...

DL's - great to lift barefoot, or at least with a shoe that puts you as low to the ground as possible. You can buy some deadlift slippers, they don't cost much and are mostly legal at meets.

Squats - ideally you want to lift in either a squat shoe or a heeled shoe.

The benefit of squat shoes are that they have a wooden heel, this serves two purposes: a) the heel raises you slightly higher and opens your hips through the movement, slightly increasing your felxibility (great if you have tight hips and/or calves b) The wooden heels means you don't get any loss of power from when you start driving back up. With a normal rubber soled shoe you lose power on the ascent as the force is compressed into the rubber, therefore this translates into a loss of power (small I know, but you want all the advantage you can get). You might as well put yourself in the strongest position from the start

I was hoping you'd have some advice/knowledge to share on this topic. Definitely didn't even know that there was such a thing as deadlift slippers, just knew there were compression socks, so I'll be adding those to my list, too. Seems like there's a lot I don't know about in terms of "equipment."

The first point you made about increasing flexibility is something I didn't know but am extremely pleased to know. After doing some research I found out that Chucks are bad for knee travel so that was my main reason for wanting to find something more appropriate but, as someone with tight hips, too, the fact that squat shoes help with that pretty much solidifies my decision to pick up those Adidas in the near future. Thank you for your input!

I haven't lifted barefoot since the beginning of October when I joined my gym. However, there's no "explicit" rule against it so maybe I'll try out barefoot deads this week to see how they feel - even if it's just for my warm ups since I might not be inclined to do so with heavy weight just yet.

Squat65x595x5115x3130x3145x10 (PR)Squats are feeling 100x better than they were three weeks ago. Not going to lie, I definitely attribute this to the 10x5 BBB squats from last week.

Back raises35x10x5These are coming along nicely – the weight increase didn’t feel like much of anything.

Leg press180x10x290x15x2This, I think, is the only template that suggests these as an assistance lift for squats. I considered SLDL but, since I also opted to do back raises, I figured hitting my quads/hamstrings was more important. However, I’m not sure if I’d choose these as my main assistance lift if I do pick this template.Hanging bent leg raises10x5Slow and controlled. My core and back are definitely my weakest areas.

Dumbbell side bends35x1230x15A bit tender from Sunday’s conditioning session so I cut these short. Not a big deal since I’ll be hitting them again on Thursday.AFTERWARDAfter the gym and lunch, I discovered that it is nearly impossible for me to find jeans to accommodate my disproportionate body. I’ve always had a tiny waist that transitions rather abruptly into a pretty wide set of hips – something my mother, to this day, finds hilarious given the fact that I do not give, pardon my French, a flying fuck about an “hourglass shape” – and when you pair this with thighs that grow thicker by the week and unnecessarily big calves, well, let’s just say it makes someone who already hates shopping hate shopping any more.However, since all the pants I currently own no longer fit quite right because of the aforementioned, I knew it had to be done. After forty-five minutes of trying on, literally, 14 different pairs of pants in Plato’s Closet, I finally found a pair that I found acceptable – some Levi 511s. The funny thing about this is, when I was Cardio Kid, I owned a pair of 511s and they were baggy on me despite being the “skinny” cut – my legs were that damn shrimpy looking from all the running. The pair I bought on Monday, however, look like appropriately fitted straight-legs. Thank you, squats and deadlifts, thank you.We’ll see how long these fit, though, since the visible changes in my quads and hamstrings are more noticeable than any other area in my body. I am more than okay with this even if it means that owning pants that “fit” will never happen again. There is a reason sweatpants were invented.

Whenever you post a sizeable blog it always contains something I ve recently had to do myself, so if I comment a lot you know why lol

I'm jean hunting tomorrow, my current 30"waist ones now pinch but my quads are makin it impossible to bet my phone & wallet in my pockets & I refuse to have a man bag...

If you don't mind the input i'd really recommend pairing squats with either stiff leg deads of good mornings. you're getting serious moneys worth with either of these but I guess it comes down to how your back is. That's why programmed assistance is great, you could start as light as you want to help your body adapt/nail form while still making gains. You could in reality go with triumvirate but still use the programmed assistance on either of those assistances. My lower body days are pretty simple but it's always big work I hit

FYI my backs ok but my quads feeling disgusting today

_________________"Don't fall for that crap that people are peddling on the message boards, in magazines or on TV. Get your shit in order, and get your training in order. Start kicking ass, and take out the crap that doesn't matter" Jim Wendler

I've recently discovered the awesome problem of trying to fit your keys, phone, and wallet into your pockets - quads tend to make this difficult.

I'm building my back up with the raises to start doing good mornings with the bar. I don't see leg presses as part of my programming regardless of the template I choose and I'm leaning towards pairing squats with GMs/deadlifts with front squats to focus on my weaker points.

_________________"Don't fall for that crap that people are peddling on the message boards, in magazines or on TV. Get your shit in order, and get your training in order. Start kicking ass, and take out the crap that doesn't matter" Jim Wendler

It really is crazy how "simple" 5/3/1 is but how much more intensely it makes you look at yourself and your program, really makes you pay attention to what works for you and why it works.

My foam roller came in the mail today (right fast shipping considering I placed the order on Monday) and since I want to make sure I'm using it right, I started looking for videos of exercises for it. Of course, Elitefts has some good ones, though, this one for squats I found to be exceptionally helpful:

I went with pairing those four as I want to (as you said) build my hamstring & lower back muscles up more to aid with my sciatica. That's why reverse hypers are also great on a ghr frame, they take the weight off the lower back so you get to control it better, those along with ghr are helping but I know it's something that's always has/will bother me. I go back & forth in my head over switching from conventional deads to sumos but I'll hold off as long as I can. My back only really ever hurts when I sit down, but it's slowly getting there, very slowly. That's why I basically had to start from the ground up on squats & deads after it started hindering me after moving, I'm almost only just touching intermediate type weight. But I'm not a hero about it, I'll be back pulling higher again in the coming cycles.

The next couple of days I ve planned to do loads of mobility work, those vids are good seen them all.

I can't agree more about 5/3/1 making you actually think why you're doing a,b & c... After the back injury I went to hack squats & I was banging out for reps (a-t-g) 550lb so when I started squatting again I thought I could pick up where I left off, WRONG. That's what got me really into the 'science' of wanting to be big & strong, not just big.

The view of training for performance over a look will sever you well & is the mentality you luckily already have. Let's not lie though we love our cloths getting tighter

Now all I need to do is bombard you with Wendlers dislike for counting macros & we will be truly male/female versions of one another or vice versa..on that I read the zone diet today, boring lol I'll stick to I know what works for me pizza tonight

_________________"Don't fall for that crap that people are peddling on the message boards, in magazines or on TV. Get your shit in order, and get your training in order. Start kicking ass, and take out the crap that doesn't matter" Jim Wendler

I have no idea why my gym doesn't have GHR frame - we only have the one for back raises. Well, that's not true - I know we don't have one because I lift at a commercial gym dominated by people who are into cardio/curls. I already decided once my contract goes up, I'm finding a gym that's geared toward strength training, if not powerlifting specifically. Plus, I've always trained solo and I'd be interested to see how finding someone or a group of people to train with would be.

The things that really hold my squats/deads back are my hip flexors, Osgood-Schlatter, and my weak core so that's why I'm bumping up the mobility and flexibility work, getting knee sleeves/squat shoes - it's ridiculous to think that I'm just now realizing that taking care of these things, instead of ignoring or "pushing through" them, is going to make stronger. I guess everyone starts somewhere.

I've never pulled sumo before and I wonder how that'd change my deads - it's my lower back that's the weakest as my upper back's been coming along pretty nicely the last few months from the rows and chins.

While injuries and mistakes suck, I think how you handle them and rebound from them really says a lot about a person's character and I commend you for having the diligence, patience, and willingness to grow and learn from it instead of giving up or making the situation worse. Your progress has been phenomenal and I know that you know slow and steady is the best way to improve - your squat/dead numbers in another six months to a year are going to be insane.

I don't know if i'll ever give up counting macros - I've found tracking them to be really interesting, mostly because I think it's really cool to see how different breakdowns affect different things (like long-term vs. short-term energy, holding water weight, losing weight, etc.) and makes me more attentive to what kind of foods "work" for me without being obsessive over food (don't measure my food, don't care about hitting exact numbers, don't care if I go over one day). I suppose it's the equivalent of a hobby for nutrition nerds. Haha.

You can still do ghr work, All it takes is hooking your feet under something & lowering yourself down until you give way & drop. Then you can explode back up by pulling your glutes & hamstrings. Have a look on the tube I'm sure there will be examples. My gym is very commercial to, Loads of cross trainers ect & the owners now pushing spin classes. To his credit though he puts his money into the equipment, All machines he has are hammer strength so top quality. A decline, incline & two flat benches for presses. Loads of adjustable benches in front of the mirrors but only 1 power rack & a rack. Luckily it's all oly bars to. Pre loaded mini barbell racks ect so in all & for how much it costs its great. I have no idea why ghr are hard to find...

Thanks again for the kind words, We may bro down a lot but I'm fine with that haha I think you're pretty awesome with how you actually listen to people but also do the leg work & educate yourself. Unlike the moron who messaged me on fb basically saying he wanted help to begin training but couldn't be bothered to sit & research so thought it would be easier to just ask me. My reply was "nice start" that was it lol In reality I'd of liked to of chalked up & clapped in his face.

Sumos take weight off the lower back for sure but your glutes, hams ect take the extra work load. I wouldn't be overly bothered if I had to pull this way if my back dictates it...But I hope all the work & slow 5/3/1 will move me along. I will send you a deadlifting ebook if you want it? Did you like the pic I emailed you last week?

As for macros, Once your numbers get serious you'll just eat. That's partly why bbb challenge is where I'm heading in a few weeks, Be interesting to see if the revamped vegetarian version I have made up (the meal plan) works. With that I'm just starting with usual portions & see if my appetite grows with the program... Mass moves mass

I'm going to bench to trap them tomorrow, You must of heard of them if you're into hardcore?

_________________"Don't fall for that crap that people are peddling on the message boards, in magazines or on TV. Get your shit in order, and get your training in order. Start kicking ass, and take out the crap that doesn't matter" Jim Wendler

Deadlifts75x5105x5135x3155x3175x10The first pull at 155 felt so fucking heavy that, for an instant, I thought I was only going to get my required reps in at 175. I took an extended rest between sets to prowl around the gym, nodding my head to some Nails, and then proceeded to beast through the last set. Felt awesome.

Hanging leg raises10x5

Front squat70x10x265x10x260x10

03.23.12Cycle One, Week Three, Day Five

NUTRITION55/163/215

SESSIONWarm-up: Elliptical, jumping rope, chin-ups.

Dumbbell OHP15x5x2These should have been 20s but someone else was using them to do curls.

Barbell OHP45x350x355x11 (PR)For the first two sets I used a false-grip, which ended up feeling much more natural than I anticipated. Should have stuck with it for the 55 as "thumbs over" felt less stable than the previous sets. Overall, though, these went better than I expected since I wasn't feeling it at all.

Chin-ups10x5First two were assisted with different weights/grips; last three were all rack chins.

Dips10x5Various assisted weights in between sets of chins and face pulls.

Face pulls70x1070x15x270x10I was going to do rows but the dumbbells I wanted were in use. These will do.

Awesome work all round mate! The easy weeks are fun to bang in some reps, then the fun is trying to better them with heavier weights (if you're feeling it)

What template is the ohp day? Hope you get a new note book sorted

_________________"Don't fall for that crap that people are peddling on the message boards, in magazines or on TV. Get your shit in order, and get your training in order. Start kicking ass, and take out the crap that doesn't matter" Jim Wendler

OHP is the Triumvirate with the added face pulls - supposed to be just three lifts but threw them in because chins were feeling weak. The dumbbell stuff is because the bar's 45 and my lower sets are 35/40.

Still no word on fixing my computer but I'll be using my old lady's when she's not pounding out grad school work until I can get everything sorted out.

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